I did see the Yahoo Sports story Kevin Iole wrote about how the ratings for TUF go up when there's a women's fight in the episode. I can't lie: it felt really good to see that the UFC fans - not only MMA fans but fans of the UFC who maybe hadn't seen any female fights before February of this year - look forward to watching the women fights so much.
I think a lot of people miss what I've done in the MMA world. How I was able to market and control the industry so that people wanted to watch my fights. If you look at the fights I've been involved in - in the SEG UFC, in Japan, for Zuffa and today, they have been fights that have turned companies around.
I had 33 kickboxing fights, 37 MMA fights, plus 44 amateur boxing fights, which most of them were international. I will keep fighting as long as I feel good, but I will repeat once more, any fight could be the last one.
Not just me but everybody in the WEC was dreaming of fighting in the UFC and become a champ. Thank God I went there and became a champion. I root for the WEC guys. I do.
I'm more into MMA than any other sport. I watch a lot of the UFC fights. I have since it first came onto the scene.
I was introduced to fighting by my brother - he's a tattooer, a tough guy - and I completely fell in love with it. I was watching fights on YouTube all the time. I would go to parties to watch UFC fights.
When I was in the UFC, I would get tickets for a fight, and then what I would do is go in the crowds and watch the rest of the fights. A lot of times, I would end up taking pictures and signing people's books. I didn't care if I got any money or anything. I was just there enjoying my time and watching the fights.
Aang is an Airbender, and he became the Avatar after the last one died. He has to realize his destiny as the Avatar by mastering all of the elements - earth, fire and air. For me, I feel like I'm mastering all the different styles or elements of MMA. It's my destiny to become the Avatar of this game.
In my teenage years, I started kickboxing, then did a little boxing. When the UFC and MMA exploded in the early 2000s in the U.S.A. and Japan, I saw a way to make money and a career.
For a lot of MMA fans, especially in the UFC, they didn't know who I was... unless you're really involved in women's MMA.
I got to fight the greatest-of-all-time in my weight division - not once but twice. I was watching this guy when I was 16 years old when I first started kickboxing. I wanted to fight Aldo in a kickboxing match. A couple years later, I came to MMA and wanted to fight him. 10 years later, I got to fight the man twice.
There doesn't need to be hatred after a fight, because it's all said and done. I'm cool with a lot of my opponents in the UFC. There's people I've fought who were my friends in kickboxing tournaments and after we were still cool.
My first MMA fight was July 2006 here in Brazil. I won a few fights here in Brazil, and then I got a chance to fight in the UFC, but they put me against the number one contender for the title at that time. It was Fabricio Werdum.
I want to be that No. 1 guy in the WEC and UFC.
Obviously, CM Punk is a really big draw for the UFC. He's going to bring a lot of eyes to the UFC, and the better he does, the better it'll be for all MMA fighters as far as sponsorships and stuff.
I like to make my fights exciting and different. Everybody in UFC can fight; we're capable of kickboxing, wrestling, but I like to stand out. That's what I really pride myself on. What can I do to stand out from the other people in my sport.